Japanese Verbs Four

In this Japanese Verbs Four, of the learn Japanese series, we will look at how the conditional "if" and "if not" is expressed in Japanese.

There are several ways to indicate the conditional "if" condition.

Check out these sentences:

Sanpo ni iku nara uwagi ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou.

Sanpo ni ittara uwagi ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou.

Sanpo ni ikeba uwagi ga hitsuyou ni naru deshou.

They all mean "If you are going out, you will probably need a jacket."

Not all of these forms can be used in all situations. There will always be exceptions. However, the …tara form is very popular in daily Japanese conversation. So let's just master this one for now.

How you do it

This …tara form is often used with moshi もし, which means "if," but not always.

For example, form it like this: the verb to read = yomu.

Verb past = yonda.

Now add "ra," which becomes yondara and means "if you read."

In order to do this with all verbs let's first recap on Japanese verbs

There are three types of verb:

1. irregular verbs, of which there are only two.
2. The verbs that end in "u." 
   
3. Those that end in "ru."

To make it easier I will arrange the verb in its various forms

Plain Form   Verb Past         "+ra" form          Kanji/Kana

Kuru                   kita             kitara           来たら

Suru                   shita           shitara           したら

Verbs that end in "ru:"

Miru                    mita            mitara           見たら

Taberu               tabeta           tabetara        食べたら

Verbs that end in "u:"

Katsu                katta           kattara       勝ったら

Yomu                 yonda           yondara       読んだら

Modoru             modotta         modottara     戻ったら

Beware of the "u" form, they are not supposed to be irregular. However, the way they change is sometimes not what you would expect. Most verbs that end in "ru" behave like "taberu," but not all.

Here are a few examples:

自転車 = ji ten sha = bycycle. 箸 = hashi = chopsticks. 安い = yasui =cheap.

買 = ka. Dictionary form = kau = to buy.

の = no = you can translate like the English "one."

使う = tsukau = to use.  ほうがいい =  hou ga ii = would be better.

眼鏡 = me gane = spectacles.

かける = kakeru = to wear/hang.

If you buy a bicycle, buy a cheap one.

         もし自転車を買ったら安いのを買ってください。

If you eat sushi, you better use chopsticks. 

         もしすしを食べたら箸を使うほうがいいです。

If you read that book, you better wear glasses.

         もしその本を読んだら眼鏡をかけるほうがいいです。

To say that "If you don't ..."

For this just use the negative past + ra.

For example:

Yomu. Negative past = yomanakatta +ra = yomanakattara.

Here are a few examples:

驚きます = odorokimasu = to be surprised.  雑誌 = zasshi = magazine.

If you don't buy a bicycle, I will be surprised.      

             自転車を買わなかったら驚きます。

If you don't eat sushi, I will understand.

             もしすしを食べなかったらわかります。

If he doesn't read a book, he will read a magazine.

             もし本を読まなかったら雑誌を読みます。

 

Now let's do some practice!

See if you can do an English to Japanese translation of the below sentences, using the above Japanese words.

1. If you wear that hat, you will probably be laughed at.

2. If you don't hurry, you will miss the next train.

3. If it snows, the concert will be cancelled.

4. If father doesn't arrive soon, I will go to the station.

5. If you don't eat a snack now, you will probably eat lunch.

6. If you miss the train, you won't be able to watch that TV program.

Once you have done it, click here to see how you did with the Japanese translation.

Now, do it again and again until you are perfect and fast.

The only way to remember all this is to practice it on a regular basis.

The best way to do this is:

1. Come back to this page regularly and check yourself on the above 6 Japanese phrases.
2. Write an example of each of the positive and negative patterns in a small note book, so as to practice them when you have nothing to do, like waiting for a bus.
   

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